The Greater Noctule is a threatened bat species characterized by a fragmented distribution and limited documented observations in Italy. During a census using ultrasound detectors, foraging Greater Noctules were identified in 2024 and 2025. Echolocation calls were recorded in Santena, Valdieri, and the Bosco dell’Alevè woodland in Val Varaita, NW Italy. The first localization in Alevè was made at 1,500 m a.s.l. on 30/07/2024. In the following year, sampling was performed across five sites in the surrounding area. The species was recorded again at the original site at 1,500 m on 11/07/2025, as well as at a new location at 1,900 m a.s.l. on 11/08/2025. The habitat in these areas is dominated by Arolla Pines Pinus cembra of uneven ages, featuring many ancient trees with numerous cavities or advanced decay. In Santena, localization occurred on 24/06/2024 at 240 m a.s.l. The habitat was characterized by a private garden in the periurban area, close to an ancient castle park with old trees. The observation of Valdieri occurred in autumn, on 14/10/2025 at 790 m a.s.l., in an area characterized by vertical rocky slopes within open arid grassland and broadleaf woods. The observations of Santena and Alevè represent the first verification of this rare bat’s occurrence during the summer reproductive season, and prompt further investigation regarding the regular presence of the species in NW Italy.
A better understanding of how moose Alces alces select and browse plants may allow ecologists to make better predictions about how herbivores and plants interact, herbivore food acquisition, and how organisms may shape their own forage supply. This in turn, can lead to a better understanding of animal responses to plant nutrients and defences, and how and why animals move across landscapes, select certain habitats, reproduce, interact with predators and competitors, and survive. Here, we used sequential feeding trials conducted in north-central British Columbia with 4 hand-reared, 9-month-old, orphaned moose calves to study winter shoot selection from ramets cut from native willows Salix scouleriana. Our generalized linear models indicated that, when browsing, moose calves generally followed principles of optimal patch use theory and initially selected smaller, less fibrous shoots at the beginning of feeding trials, then switched to larger shoots as smaller, more nutritious shoots were depleted. On average, moose calves removed 20% of the shoot biomass from each ramet trialled and cropped shoots at an average of 5.03mm in diameter. Bite diameters taken by calves were larger when a greater proportion of shoots from ramets had been selected from ramets that had been browsed in previous years and in later feeding trials. Despite some study limitations, our findings provide these and other fine-scaled details contextualized within a backdrop of prior research regarding browse selection by young moose that may help to elucidate connections between browsing behaviours and estimates of intake rate. These findings may help to inform future studies in which forage ecologists are seeking to understand optimal foraging and browse patch depletion dynamics in moose and other species.
A combined review of published and unpublished data significantly updates the distribution, ecology, and detectability of Bacanius (Bacanius) consobrinus (Aubé 1850), a saproxylic microhisterid of Turano-European distribution. The species is newly recorded from Iran, Turkey, Cyprus, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, with several additional localities documented for the Caucasus, the Balkans, Italy (including the first record for Puglia), and France. Available evidence shows that the species inhabits saproxylic microhabitats exclusively associated with broadleaf trees, in environments ranging from sea level up to ca 1000 m a.s.l., and often moderately disturbed or urbanised, challenging its proposed value as an indicator of well-preserved forest ecosystems. Targeted sampling (deep sifting; cavity-facing window traps) revealed high local abundances otherwise missed by non-targeted methods, indicating that the species’ perceived rarity is mainly due to low detectability. The expanded Italian dataset contradicts the assumptions underlying its former “Critically Endangered” assessment in the national Red List of saproxylic beetles, and strongly supports a re-evaluation of its conservation status.
Herniaria fontanesii subsp. empedocleana is a Sicilian endemic vascular plant which has probably gone extinct during the last decades. In this contribution we propose a lectotype for the basionym, Hernaria empedocleana described by Lojacono-Pojero, whose selected specimen is kept in PAL. Some details are also provided on the figure and scientific activity of Lojacono-Pojero, one of the most influential Sicilian botanists of the second half of the 19th century. Additionally, some considerations are shared on the need to translate the work of typification and identification of loci classici into an effective tool for safeguarding the naturalistic values of the territory.
During an observation in the Giovenco Valley (Abruzzo), an Italian wolf Canis lupus italicus displaying a reddish-orange coat was documented. The individual, a subadult male in good condition, showed typical morphological traits of the subspecies; however, the presence of free-ranging dogs in the area does not exclude a hybrid origin. Based on the literature, two hypotheses were proposed: a genetic mutation affecting coat pigmentation or wolf-dog hybridization. In the absence of clear diagnostic traits of hybridization, genetic analyses are therefore required. This case highlights the importance of monitoring hybridization and managing stray dog populations for the conservation of the Apennine wolf.
